APhA-ASP CHAPTER
MEETING
Speakers
- Tom Temple and Bill
Wimmer (10/1/2012)
Earlier this week, the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy hosted Mr. Tom Temple
and Bill Wimmer. Mr. Temple is the former CEO of the Iowa Pharmacy Association
(IPA) and Mr. Bill Wimmer is a legislative consultant for the Iowa Pharmacy
association. I found it interesting to hear Mr. Temple describe his role in
leading the Iowa Pharmacy Association and the reason why Mr. Wimmer was
contracted as a legislative consultant.
The reason is that often the general public, including legislators, do
not know the job of the pharmacist and it is important to educate them. This
education allows legislators to better understand how the legislations they
pass actually affect pharmacists. Most often pharmacists are seen in a
community setting but in actuality there are a myriad of settings that a
pharmacist practices in. It is important to represent all the pharmacists and
to build a relationship with our legislators to continually have a positive
impact on the profession. Building
relationships with legislators was especially stressed by Mr. Wimmer because it
allows for continually teaching legislators about pharmacy and to ensure that
legislation that needs to be passed is done accordingly. By attending this APhA-ASP chapter meeting, I
have been able to recognize the importance of being aware of pharmacy
legislation and to also work on knowing my legislators. I plan on researching
about my legislators and I look forward to attending the IPA legislative day in
February at the Iowa State Capitol.
